"Jin-sama, preparations are complete."
As soon as Jin's Doppel emerged from the teleportation magic circle on Uni, the Control Brain Jack spoke to him.
Before his eyes, three spaceships stood in silence.
"Good. Let's begin the work immediately."
Since they were in a vacuum, sound wouldn't carry. Their conversation was conducted via the built-in manacam.
The Space Isolation Barrier generators for Ars were loaded onto the Sirius and Procyon, while the unit for Uni was loaded onto the Betelgeuse. Each was installed in the lower-level storehouses, in areas where the walls had been expanded to create the necessary space.
The work itself was finished within an hour.
"Now, all that's left is the ethenol."
To activate a Space Isolation Barrier generator just once required sixty-four tons of ethenol per second. The capacity of the tanks installed on the three ships was approximately two hundred tons each, meaning the barriers could only be activated three times.
"Even so, it'll still take some time for six hundred tons of ethenol to reach us."
He could only pray that no space vibrations would occur nearby in the meantime.
"We are distributing and transferring the first shipment of ethenol to each ship now."
At that moment, a message came in from Laojun.
Ethenol had been transferred from the Vulcan. Even if it wasn't enough to fill the tanks to capacity, Laojun was sending enough to each ship for at least one activation.
"We made it just in time, somehow."
Back on Hourai Island, Jin himself breathed a sigh of relief.
"Still, it might be better to keep Milowina over here for a while."
"However, My Lord, it is not necessarily certain that Ars is any safer."
"I suppose you're right..." Jin conceded.
"To be honest, I'd like to evacuate the Jin Family and our close associates to a safe sector of space aboard the Adriana until this phenomenon ends."
"I understand your feelings, but we cannot identify any location that is one hundred percent safe."
Even if they evacuated to Hale, there was no guarantee that a space vibration—or rather, a spirited away event—wouldn't occur there.
"I know that, but still."
Jin had suspected as much, but hearing it stated so plainly made his anxiety flare.
"Why did things turn out like this in the first place...?"
"My Lord, Adriana Tierra was researching that very topic, was she not?"
In response to Jin's musing, Laojun began an explanation.
"Ah, right. It was something like... 'This world seems to be floating inside an even larger world like a bubble in water, and that bubble is our world'?"
This was information Jin had learned while exploring the history of the Magus.
"Precisely. By adding the information we have gained since then to that hypothesis, and based on my own further deductions..."
Laojun shared his original theory.
"In the world you came from, My Lord, there were theories that the universe is finite, or that it is a closed space, were there not?"
"Yeah, I've heard of them."
Since Laojun's knowledge was inherited from Jin, it was only natural for him to know.
"Adriana Tierra likened it to bubbles in water. I believe that is an effective, easy-to-understand model."
"I agree."
"However, when considering dimensions, one can likely only imagine dimensions higher than the one they inhabit."
"That's true."
"So, shall we agree that the bubble analogy is a model with reduced dimensions?"
"Yeah."
Here, Laojun began to explain yet another model.
"When considering contact, it is easier to think in two dimensions."
"Like sheets of paper, then."
"Yes. A state where countless thin sheets of paper are stacked together. Each of those sheets represents a parallel world."
Jin followed along easily.
"Normally, those sheets do not interfere with one another, but for some reason, they occasionally make contact."
"Is that what's happening now?"
"No, please listen until the end. Even if they make contact, the sheets of paper do not normally fuse together."
"I suppose not."
"However, depending on the conditions, there are times when printing ink might transfer from one page to the opposite one."
"And that is... the spirited away?"
"It is merely a hypothesis."
"That's a fascinating hypothesis. Impressive as always, Laojun."
"I am honored, My Lord."
Jin praised his subordinate before continuing.
"Hearing your hypothesis gave me an idea of my own. Will you hear it?"
"Of course. I am listening."
"Think about the contact between bubbles—specifically, what happens when a large bubble and a small bubble touch."
"It is possible for one to be absorbed by the other."
"Right. In that case, the transition is one-way. It's absorption, not an exchange. I think that might be the true nature of 'spirited away'."
"I see. That is a brilliant observation."
In science experiments, if you inflate two rubber balloons to different sizes and connect them with a tube, the air from the smaller balloon is sucked into the larger one. Their sizes never balance out. Jin had found that experiment mysterious when he first saw it in primary school.
While the experiment itself is simple, explaining the phenomenon requires high-school-level physics. This also happens when soap bubbles merge, or with water droplets on a desk.
"Is it the potential of space, or perhaps a hierarchy? In this case, since the potential here is higher, our world's contents are being sucked over to the other side."
"That is a plausible hypothesis."
"Yeah... Regardless, even if we understand the theory, we can't exactly build a countermeasure around it."
"Regrettably, that is true. However, if we could understand the nature of that 'potential,' we might find a way to avoid being sucked out to the other side."
"True. But we can't exactly experiment on it, nor can we verify it," Jin said regretfully.
"However, there is one thing I have noticed: the 'singularities'."
"Singularities... Ah, I see!"
In the past, Adriana Tierra's laboratory was established where it was precisely because that location was a singularity.
"That location was a singularity that made contact with your world, My Lord, and the world of Shuuki Tsetse easier. Furthermore, it could be said that the spatial potential was lower on this side."
"That certainly makes sense."
"Using the paper analogy, a 'singularity' would be a slightly rippled or protruding part of the sheet. It makes contact with other worlds more likely."
The analogy was perfectly clear.
"So, the places where space vibrations and spirited away events are occurring now are also those 'singularities'?"
"I believe the probability is high. However, there is no guarantee that there is only one such place, nor is there any certainty that they remain stationary."
"That's true."
"But, My Lord, would it not be possible to make those 'singularities' no longer singularities?"
"Hm? You mean... in the paper analogy, we would be evening out the bumps?"
"Exactly. I humbly suggest that if we can accomplish that, we might be able to lower the probability of Ars or Uni making contact with the other world."
"I see what you're saying. Hmm, I wonder..."
If the Space Isolation Barrier was a passive measure, this was an active one. What had started as a mere mental exercise regarding the contact between spaces had turned out to be incredibly valuable.
Jin considered the various means available to affect space. Teleportation magic, gravity magic, powerful explosions—several options came to mind.
"It would have to be teleportation magic, wouldn't it?"
"It seems the most likely candidate."
Gravity and explosions felt like they would only produce secondary effects. To affect space itself, teleportation was the logical choice.
"Alright. At a time like this, let's consult No. 700672 as well."
Jin decided that he wanted to discuss this new idea with No. 700672 as soon as possible.